Archaic-Magazine.com :: "A Spell..." was the result of major depression but to tell you the truth, I'm feeling much better these days so it's going to be an issue of staying true to myself and Woe without breaking any of my rules.

Black metal is a love or hate genre. Especially when it deals with something other than Satan. The darker side of man, frustration, depression, hate and every dark feeling you can think of. Some see it as mopey, suicide soundtracks played by pill-poppers, for pill-poppers, while others love the sting of real emotion and see how something so dark is perfect for black metal. The world, or more truthfully, the people in the world and more pinpointedly, yourself, is usually what finally drives you off the brink of sanity; if there is such a thing as a state of complete "un-insanity." Before going off that brink even more so, let's see what Chris of Woe has to say about his music, other people's music and perhaps a little more...

Hello, how are you doing?
Hello! I'm quite well at the moment.

Care to share a brief history of the band or explain what Woe sounds like to those who've yet to have the pleasure of hearing your music?
The very summarized version: I started Woe as a very basic solo project in early 2007 and released a short demo that summer followed by a split 7" with Infernal Stronghold. The first full-length was studio recorded and released in August of 2008. Interest was strong enough that it was worth the effort to put a full band together and since then, we have been performing select shows. As for the music, a simplified description of the goal was old Ulver melodic intensity with Faust-era Emperor drumming.

How has the feedback been so far on "A Spell For the Death of Man?" How is it selling?
The feedback has been better than expected, honestly. I was and am confident with it and thought people would think highly of it, but everyone who plays and releases music thinks that of their own material. The response has been exceedingly positive with most reviews using the exact adjectives I hoped to see. As for how it's selling, well, online sales trickle in here and there but it sells very well when we play live. It was downloaded heavily... I don't think that you can expect the first album of an unknown band on a very new label to break any sales records.

You had another, earlier release called "Absinthe Invocation: Five Spells Against God." You described it as being "Five songs of raw, sloppy, Satanic black metal" on your website and that it was limited to only 33 copies. Do you plan to re-lease it at a later date, or are you leaving it in the dust?
As much as I like the songs, this is in no way representative of Woe now so I feel like making it available would be a disservice to the band. Production is production but the style now is quite a bit different, as is the overall feeling and presentation. One of the songs was rerecorded for the new 7" and in the future, it's possible that I will rerecord the others but the original recordings will stay shelved for a long time.

In what ways have you noticed your sound change from 2007 to 2008? Were there any occurrences in your life or the world that affected your music to transform into something more?
The whole focus of the band changed. Originally, it was planned to just create raw, Satanic black metal. Throughout 2007, I had some experiences that seriously affected my overall outlook on life and the world; "A Spell..." was the result of them. I'm big on consistency and want the music and lyrics to have the same general feel. This disappointment in the world around me and more importantly, longing despair over things that just do not exist manifested in the music. Simply put, the goal of the early stuff was to sound "evil," the goal of the full-length was to evoke a furious, unrelenting despair.

Tracing back to the current release, what does the title "A Spell For the Death of Man" mean and how does it reflect the lyrical theme on the album and the music in general? Does the name "Woe" symbolize the emotion you felt most when you started this band?
The line is meant metaphorically and comes from a song that deals with being honest with ourselves about our true nature as individuals and a society. "A spell for the death of man / a spell for disease we've never known / dispel all myths of hope and joy / unleash the beast we hold within." A dramatic way of saying that man is a selfish, destructive creature and all of the enlightened qualities we think we possess are lies. It was one of the three main concepts of the album.

Who did the artwork for the album? It's refreshing to see a black metal release done in full color instead of in black and white. The logo appears to be in a very manly shade of pink (!). Was there any particular reason for that?

Yes, I thought it was a nice change as well! The artwork was done by my friend Justin Miller, with whom I play in a hardcore/punk band called Near Dark. I've known Justin for years now and he did artwork for a number of my bands. You really think the logo is pink? The owner of Stronghold Records teased me about the exact same thing, but I always thought of it as red! Hahaha! The art was intended to be the 10th track on the CD... Justin was given the lyrics and final master and he just went to town. Everything has a meaning, from the colors he chose to imagery. We wanted black metal without a cliche, I think we got it.

Keeping with the theme, do the hourglasses in your logo symbolize anything or are they there just because they look really cool?
The original logo had occult symbols; the hourglasses were added for this album. It deals very much with passing time and change, so they felt very appropriate.

Where do you draw your inspiration from? It could be anything musical, something from literature, history or whatever provides you with some creativity and passion.
Conceptually, it's almost entirely drawn from the world around me. As we established, the last album was the exploration of a few philosophical ideas going through my head that really apply to life in general. I'm writing now about things that concern me: religious fundamentalism (not even anti-Christianity -- I don't care how anyone wastes their time but we need to be very afraid of those who would decide for us) and the nature of control, trust, and friendship. "A Spell..." was the result of major depression but to tell you the truth, I'm feeling much better these days so it's going to be an issue of staying true to myself and Woe without breaking any of my rules.

You have a few people from bands like The Green Evening Requiem and Rumpelstiltzskin Grinder in your live line-up. You're in The Green Evening Requiem with Evan and Shane, but how did you come into contact with Matt Moore to play live guitar with Woe? Will you continue having him go on tour with you?
Matt is someone I knew from his label, Creeping Vine Productions, who put out a comp that included two of my other bands, though we only spoke through email for a long time. I ended up making friends with RSG's bassist and eventually met Matt in person through him. He's an amazingly talented person, very dedicated to music and a dream to work with on a creative and personal level. He's going to play with us as often as possible but with both Woe and RSG pretty active on the east coast and us as his #2, we'll have to take what we can get. It hasn't been an issue so far and we have a fantastic solution to potential problems that we will unveil in late February...

Your show at The Heart of Winter Fest was quite recent. How did that go? Was it your best show yet, or is there another that stands out more?
Heart of Winter was fantastic in terms of atmosphere and energy. It was the most DIY show we've played so far and we were right on the floor with everyone standing right with us, which we prefer. People were shouting along to every song and really into it, despite the fact that the sound sucked and my playing was horrendous.

It says on your Myspace page that you're playing with Nachmystium in April? Do you look forward to playing with them? Have you shared the stage with any better known bands before?
We are looking forward to that show. Our first Philadelphia show was with them as well and it was a great time even though it only had 5 days worth of promotion! This one should be even better. Other than them, we've played with a few well known bands but nobody acts like rock stars so I don't really know at what point a band would really be considered "well known," ya know?

Have you played Europe yet? Where would you most like to play over there? Do you think the European fans will react any differently than the American ones?
We have not played Europe yet but it is definitely high on the priorities list. We seem to have a good amount of support overseas, most surprisingly from Eastern Europe. I'd very much like to get to Poland and the Czech Republic as well as France, but I really want to go everywhere. The plan is to get there after the next full-length, which should be early 2010, unless something comes up and we can find a way to get over there sooner.

What is your view on the depressive black metal scene in the US versus the European one?
I know absolutely nothing about the "depressive black metal scene." Frankly, I find the idea of organized depression fucking retarded. My music is admittedly the result of intense negativity but it's anything but songs about suicide or death or general depression. I had never seen the label DSBM before my CD came out and it makes me want to fucking scream. We are not a part of that or any scene.

What do you think about USBM specifically?
This might be too hopeful but I think that American black metal on the whole is improving. It has stepped out from the shadows of the old "big" US bands and we're finally seeing bands with the depth and intensity that's been so severely lacking. The east coast in particular is FINALLY showing some promise thanks to bands like Tombs, Infernal Stronghold, Black Anvil, Withered, Bastard Sapling, Legions of Astaroth, and a number of great bands from New England. Not one of those bands sounds alike but they all represent the modern face of the black metal threat and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens.

Now more generally, you state on your website that Woe contains " no corpse paint, no Renaissance Faire speak, no fake names, no lies. Honest, dark black metal, faithful to tradition without spewing clichés." Does this statement reflect how you feel about black metal today, that it's a bit ridiculous and clichéd?
Absolutely! It's such a problem that I felt it necessary to put that on my site and people comment on it all the time! It's important to recognize that many of the things that we stand against are staples of black metal and they are totally fine for some bands... but not us. And not most. If we were very into ritual magick, a lot of the theatrics would make sense because it becomes a part of the ritual. Woe, however, is not something that "happens" on stage or when I do an interview. It is here, all the time, below the surface, so there is no reason to behave much differently than I do day to day.

How would you compare Woe to a typical black metal band?
How would I compare Woe to a typical black metal band? I'd say that depends on what you mean by "typical," which is going to depend on your overall view of modern black metal bands. If you see the typical black metal band as a total joke, a gimmicky thing with more interest in promotional photos and "kvlt" status than expressing something powerful, than I think Woe has absolutely nothing in common. As I just expressed, though, if you think that what it means to be a "typical black metal band" in America has changed, I'd like to think that Woe represents exactly what a typical black metal band should be: uncompromising, serious without coming off as stuffy douchebags, faithful to the musical and conceptual traditions without feeling like we've been there before.

I'm all over the place. Right now, I'm listening to the Foo Fighters but when I jump in my car in a few minutes, I'll be listening to Katharsis. There are always a few albums that I can't stop listening to. For the past few months, it's been the new Klimt 1918 and Arghoslent CDs and lately, a few Dillinger Four CDs have been added to that list. I just got the new Nightbringer and while I haven't listened to it yet, I'm sure it'll be on my playlist for a while.

Are there a few albums that have had the most influence on you or that you can't stop listening to? What effects do they have on your sound if any?
Albums I can't stop listening to? "Nattens Madrigal" has been on my playlist for years. Same with "In the Nightside Eclipse" and Dawn's "Slaughtersun." Another one that might surprise some is the Foo Fighters' entire discography. I'm not really prone to rockstar-worship but Dave Grohl is somewhat of a musical hero to me... I doubt you'll hear much FF influence on Woe, though! Haha. I take care to limit Woe's music and anything that strays too far from the goal gets cut. Thankfully, I have a few other bands where I can use ideas that aren't appropriate for this project and that keeps me from inviting too many to this party.

If Woe has now become your main band, do you still work with the others you're in, or have you left most of them to concentrate on Woe?
Woe is priority number 1... for now. The Green Evening Requiem is writing new stuff as a three piece and I'll be focusing entirely on that when the guys want my input. Evan and Shane are the bosses there and they have some very early demos that I haven't heard yet. The plan is for me to get in and then we'll work things out together. I also have some riffs and song ideas that aren't quite right for Woe that will go to Green Evening. It's actually quite a relief... In the past, there were riffs that I liked a lot but just couldn't include in Woe because they weren't black metal enough! I also plan on writing and recording some punkish grindcore very soon.

Will Woe remain a one-man projection upon the world, or are you considering asking others to contribute to song-writing? What else lies in the future for Woe?
It's difficult to say so I won't commit to anything. Right now, there is no plan for anyone to contribute material to the band but me and the others are 100% OK with that. They understand that I have a very, very specific vision and respect that. At the same time, I'm not arrogant enough to think that I do everything perfectly. Before recording the next album, we'll be playing most if not all of the songs together. Evan at least will be playing drums on it; the others might play as well. If they hear something that I don't, if something can be done better than I am doing it, I am open to their ideas... as long as I get veto power. Haha!

You were in Jersey and you've now moved to somewhere else in Philadelphia? How does the music scene differ between the two places? Any bands over there you think might gain some attention or at least should?
I grew up in a Jersey suburb of Philadelphia, maybe 15-20 minutes from where I live in the city now, so things haven't changed too much. The suburbs have the same music scene most suburban areas have, meaning they play whatever is popular at the most accessible level of the "underground." Philadelphia is a tough city for independent bands. There aren't many (any?) small all ages venues, shows tend to not be very well attended, and the music that is popular isn't exactly... well, I'll be diplomatic and just say that it isn't my thing. There are plenty of bands who deserve attention... I won't start naming names because it will turn into this very long paragraph of name-dropping.

Ending on a more depressing note, if you could choose how you died, how would you want to end your life?
Quietly, undramatically.